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Using vacuum sealer for photo chems

RichardBones said:
Thanks! Agreed. Luckily I had those bags already and they turned out to be a good fit for 500ml when I tried it with water
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Which size of those are a good fit for 500ml?
 
koraks said:
I've not tried it, but it sounds like an interesting solution. One concern would be the material used for the pouches; something like PP may not work for the longer term (beyond a few weeks) due to oxygen permeability issues.
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This is why I've not attempted using a food vacuum sealer to store dry chems, let alone mixed solutions - I cannot guarantee that the plastics in use have good air barrier properties.

For mixed chemical stock, I used appropriately sized brown bottles. I find the 1/2 gal / 2 liter "growler" bottles perfect for mixing and storing stock film developers, and working strength Ansco 130 paper developer. I have used D-76, D-23, Beutlers, DK-50 ... stored in these glass bottles for moths - even partially filled - and there's been no noticeable degradation in developer action.

For Pyrocat, PMK, and 510 Pyro, I use 250ml - 1 liter brown glass bottles as is appropriate, again with no developer failure after months of storage in partially full bottles. I suspect (but cannot prove) that the amount of air even in a half full glass bottle contributes to far less oxidation that storing the whole business in an air-permeable plastic container.

The advantage of the glass 1/2 gal growlers is that beer comes in them thereby putting them to very good dual use ...
 
Thanks!
 
I use StopLossBags™ from StopLossBags.com with their funnel and I have been able to keep XTOL and replenished XTOL for over a year. Vacuum sealing would be overkill.
 
Sirius Glass said:
I use StopLossBags™ from StopLossBags.com with their funnel and I have been able to keep XTOL and replenished XTOL for over a year. Vacuum sealing would be overkill.
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Thank you for the Tip! I get that the chamber vacuum would be overkill since the machine is expensive but I already have the machine and plenty of bags so why not? Then I´ll get more milage out of it. I originally bought for a big food project but have not used it since.
 
Funny I was up late last night watching a bad movie and a reoccurring commercial was for a mason jar vacuum sealer...I briefly considered the merits of using mason jars...There are similar products regular size glass containers. I don't trust plastic bags for any long term storage or anything.
 
I was just about to comment the same thing - I store spices in small wide-mouth mason jars, and seal them with a vacuum sealer with the jar attachment. Most of the sealers on the market, even the cheap ones, can do this. I can't see why this wouldn't work to seal powders, even liquids without worry, and all you need is a jar and a standard metal canning lid with the wax seal. I found it helps to apply a thin layer of olive oil or equiv. to help it keep the seal.
 

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